International animal welfare activists say Kyiv Zoo won't receive EAZA membership until 2012
Kyiv, October 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Representatives of international organizations for the protection of animal rights have said that membership of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria won't be returned to Kyiv Zoo ahead of schedule, and they also called for the replacement of the zoo's management.
They were speaking at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Thursday.
"I received a letter from the EAZA two weeks ago… In particular, it said that the Kyiv Zoo does not meet European animal care standards and was not even recognized as a candidate for returning to the EAZA. The Kyiv Zoo won't be able to submit its candidacy for consideration until 2012," Britain's Naturewatch Director John Ruane said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.
He said that reports released by Kyiv Zoo's press service that the inspections conducted by the EAZA on August 4-11, 2009 showed positive changes in the zoo's activity are untrue.
"The reports on the Web site of the Kyiv Zoo … don't reflect reality. The EAZA leadership is very indignant that the zoo's management is publishing untrue reports about positive changes at the zoo," Ruane said.
He said that no changes had been made in the last two years since Kyiv Zoo's expulsion from the EAZA.
International animal welfare activists said that the zoo needs new management to be run properly and provide its animals with care that meets European standards.
"If Kyiv residents want to have a proper zoo, it's necessary to replace the zoo's leadership and select new people via a tender – an expert who has at least 20 years of experience [in the field of zoology]," Ruane said.
President of the Kyiv Society for the Protection of Animals - SOS Tamara Tarnavska, in turn, said that international animal welfare activists, with the assistance of Ukrainian MPs that represent three factions, had asked the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine to check reports of the violations of the rights of animals and conditions for their keeping at Kyiv Zoo.
Commenting on the current situation, Kyiv Zoo Deputy Director General Kyrylo Trantin said that 57 zoo experts had resigned over the last two years. He also spoke about the poor state of the open-air cages and buildings for animals during the winter season, and said that animals live "in terrible conditions.”"
"Our zoo is dying, and the animals are living out their last days," he said.
He said that membership of the EAZA would give Kyiv Zoo a chance to receive rare kinds of animals and "helps any zoo develop."
Ruane joked at the end of the press conference: "Ukraine has more chance of winning Euro 2012 than seeing Kyiv Zoo return to the EAZA.|"
The Kyiv Zoo was expelled from the EAZA late in 2007 due to a number of violations that had persisted over the last ten years. The last inspections in the zoo were conducted in 2006.